Howdy folks, I recently purchased a 2005 R52 non-S from my nephew. It has been sufficiently abused (as you would expect a teenage kid to do). I had to replace a clutch before I could drive it, but at $750 it was a solid purchase. Runs great, has 120k miles on it. I fixed several leaks (oil filter adapter, power steering reservoir, rear main seal) in the process of replacing the clutch. Looking forward to both giving and receiving assistance here. If you guys see anything in the list below that you can help with or point me to an existing post, that would be fantastic. Thanks!

Planned upgrades/maintenance:

• Stereo
  • Head unit (currently not working), I saw the android stereos (touchscreen where the current speedo is) for 2007+ cars, and would like to do something like this if I can make it work. If anyone has experience doing this, or adding the NavSat screen for first gen cars to those that didn't come with it, please hit me up. I would like to do this mod immediately. Driving without tunes sucks.
  • Speakers - this car has the HK audio setup, but both of the rear speakers are blown. I was eyeballing the Polk audio components on Crutchfield as a good replacement. Any experience with these?
  • Sub - I will custom build a box for a single 10" to fit in the trunk (as it is basically useless anyway)
• Suspension
  • I replaced the swingarm bushings and outer ball joints when I had the subframe out for the clutch replacement. The inner ball joints seemed to be in good shape, and I can do them without pulling the subframe if necessary. I used Moog ball joints as I have for years.
  • Eventually, I would like to replace the bushings with poly (unless they are unnecessary). I do like to drive this overgrown go kart like it was intended to be driven.
• Head/Tail lights
  • I have the auto leveling xenon headlights, and there are several problems. The passenger side keeps coming uncoupled from the motor linkage (ball joint) internal to the housing. The driver side does do the "down, up" adjustment when the lights are first turned on, but afterward is constantly pointed at the ground right in front of the bumper. The adjusters for height and side to side don't work for either headlight.
  • I plan to do the "joey mod" to black out the non-reflective internal parts. While in the housing, I hope to address the adjustment and auto level linkage issues.
  • Both the head and tail lights are pretty heavily oxidized. I plan to polish the head light lenses, but will be replacing the tail lights with the blacked out altezza style lights from Amazon (~$80).
• Wheels/Tires
  • I read somewhere that 18" wheels will fit on the Mini. Does anyone have pics of one with 18" wheels? I'm a HUGE fan of a reverse offset style wheel. Most everything I see on mini's is zero offset/flat faced rims. Not a fan of that look at all. Any suggestions for wheels with these parameters would be greatly appreciated, as I have been unable to fins anything that meets them.

 

Welcome to the forum!

IIRC, 18” wheels will fit, depending on tire choice but there has been some discussion as to how well the transmission will hold up if you go too far from stock.

Unless you have the 6 speed. Then go as wild as you like.

 

Welcome to the forum. That is quite a list of improvements.

I would think 18 inch wheels would make too rough a ride.